Hi Phill. I noticed that, along with the gas works and brass mill, but thought I've enough headaches with mills and railways/tramways already to start diversifying!

Oh right, I know that feeling Jim

I've not really been following this thread too well, so I'm not as clued up as I should be, I do take notice of the bits that mention shafts and old tramways though, so I have fired up google street view and the old maps on occasions, as yet I've yet to see anything that would get my camera bag into action, but you never know.

I just noticed the rope walk/way with all the talk of stathes and pits e.t.c. I thought it best to mention it in case it helped solve some puzzle (but it doesn't sound like it will)

I can always upload the maps if anyone thinks they might be of any use though

All maps always handy and welcome Phill - in fact I've just sent off for an A3 print of the 1852 OS for the area.

They're small scale Jim, O.S maps are making it harder to read them, or try before, then not need to buy them like you could before.

I'll upload them anyway, they may come in handy sometime.

The wider map to get your bearings. The Yellow line is New Lane, and the red cross is Rope Walk/Way (hard to make it out clearly)

Enlarged, but poor quality map.

Incidentally the course of that rope walk/way can still be made out on google earth. It seems to be a dirt track of some kind. Google street view seems to show a circular object at the end of it, whilst bing aerial images doesn't?

Any dates for any of the pits Phill? The Sykes reference is of interest, as part of Cockersdale is called Sykes' Wood. Can you show that pit's site?

The Bowling Ironworks to Tong Lane tramway/railway is very much under-researched. Tilly and I made some references to it earlier in the Cockersdale thread, having crossed its route on our first expedition. We had intentions of looking at it further, but that will have to wait until Tilly's health improves sufficiently. It terminated high on the hillside to the west of the dale, and its date and position mean it had no connection with the line we are currently trying to research, but it is on the list for investigation.

Any dates for any of the pits Phill? The Sykes reference is of interest, as part of Cockersdale is called Sykes' Wood.

Interesting. Sykes Wood is the site of that capped shaft we saw, Jim. Some maps (and the bloke we met in Cockersdale) refered to that wood as Nan Whins Wood.

I've identified the site of Phill's rope walk on the Google Earth image.The white cross is the rope walk.The green circle is the "old coal pit."The dark blue line is the built-up track that Jim and I identified on the ground.(As noted before, the red line is New Lane/Old Lane, the light blue is Whitehall Road embankment, the yellow is the possible incline, and the purple blob is the existing mill.)

The site of the rope walk is clearly visible on Google Earth, even though some of the field boundaries have changed a bit. Rope walks were usually where rope was made. The coal pit was almost under our feet when we stood on that concrete platform behind "Shay Farm", Jim.

I also thought, "Oh no, gas works, brass mill! What next? More complications!" - however this seems to fit in with the high pressure gas main we found.

You can buy them, they belonged to Smith, Gotthardt & Co of Bradford, Land Agents & Surveyors. The majority have fascinating hand-written additions referring to works and surveys carried out by the company approx. 1893 to 1920's.

It's mainly pits around Tong, but it goes into great detail about them and how they were worked, it's interesting stuff.

Fantastic stuff, Phill! Great find. Interesting that the Greentop mine is mentioned - see Pudsey Air Vent thread where we covered this before.

The Fox and Grapes pub AFAIK still exists, and evidence of mining/quarrying can be seen further down the track which leads from the pub, over the cutting between Greenside tunnel and the old embankment, and eventually towards Fulneck.

I think some strip mining did take place on the Tong side of the valley - early 80s?